Chapter 2666: Two Sides Both Lose

Zu An knew that if the situation caused a ripple effect across the entire academy and even the capital, it would be disastrous. So, he immediately took out the Violet Gold Alms Bowl and gently tapped it.

Soon, a series of chanting sounds resonated throughout the academy, and the previously fervent crowd quickly calmed down.

Everyone felt a quiet shame, wondering what had come over them, feeling as if they had lost their minds and wanted to rush forward.

The demoness truly lived up to her name; a mere glance was enough to make one lose self-control.

The elders quietly circulated their vital energy to calm themselves, while also instructing their disciples to close their eyes and avoid looking around. The scene once again descended into a flurry of activity.

Zu An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The Violet Gold Alms Bowl could defend against spiritual enthrallment and damage, and Yun Jianyue's power of desire must be a form of enthrallment.

Fortunately, Yun Jianyue had not actively used that power just now. Combined with the large number of people present and the wide area, each person's influence was limited, allowing the Violet Gold Alms Bowl to awaken everyone. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.

Seeing the chaos below, Yun Jianyue was slightly taken aback, then let out a string of charming laughs, causing many onlookers to almost lose control again. Zu An quickly increased the frequency of tapping the alms bowl, barely managing to suppress the effect.

Qiu Honglei, who was watching from below, had a strange expression. She thought to herself that while her master had been proficient in charm techniques, she never liked them and often subconsciously appeared fierce, never intentionally showing this side of herself.

Now, she seemed to behave like a femme fatale who could bring ruin upon a nation. Was it because Zu An had broken through her defenses and opened a new world for her, or was it due to being glanced upon by the God of Desire?

Yan Xuehen in the sky also slightly furrowed her delicate brows. "Demoness, you seem to have changed."

"Haven't you changed too? Your sword is no longer as ruthless as before. Could it be that you've recently met a suitor you favor?" Yun Jianyue chuckled sweetly.

The onlookers below naturally paid no mind to her words, simply assuming it was a tactic by the demoness to affect the mind of Fairy Yan.

However, Yan Xuehen herself felt a pang of guilt. Her expression turned cold, and she directly attacked the blood moon with her sword.

A clear sword hum echoed across the heavens and earth. Wherever her figure passed, rings of light blue coldness extended outwards.

The entire space seemed to freeze, and countless tiny ice crystals condensed in the air, appearing like myriad diamonds floating in the sky.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Yun Jianyue's laughter was incredibly soft and alluring, yet a hint of fierce ruthlessness appeared between her brows.

The blood moon behind her suddenly began to flow like liquid. The next second, an overwhelming sea of blood surged forth, engulfing the ice crystals in the air wherever it passed.

The fierce energy within the sea of blood clashed with and eroded the icy essence of the ice crystals and diamonds. The surroundings quickly transformed into a thick layer of mist, enveloping both of them.

For a moment, this corner of the world seemed as if a hell from the netherworld had manifested in the sky.

Many spectators in the arena turned pale with fear, their earlier fanciful thoughts long vanished.

Seeing this, Zu An secretly chuckled, realizing that fear could also dispel lust.

He mused about finding an opportunity to take Yun Jianyue to the netherworld, allowing her to observe various hells up close. Perhaps her 'Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood' domain would advance to a higher level.

However, he wondered if this would affect her cultivation path in "desire."

At this point, the battle in the sky also changed. Due to her rash movement, Yan Xuehen suffered a slight disadvantage in this exchange; a small section of her skirt was cut away, revealing a portion of her fair, slender calf.

Seeing this, the recently calmed crowd erupted once more.

Although it was only an ankle, the normally fairy-like Sect Master Yan had never revealed herself in such a way before.

Zu An's face darkened. He wondered why, with these two women fighting, he felt like he was the one at a disadvantage.

He could only keep reassuring himself that before he transmigrated, the girls on the street dressed more revealingly than them.

The two in the sky, however, had no time for such thoughts and quickly plunged into the thick mist to continue their duel.

True to her reputation as the foremost figure in Taoism, Yan Xuehen immediately realized her rash mistake. She quickly defended her position and slowly regained her advantage.

The two fought for a while longer. Yun Jianyue completely merged with the blood moon, and all the moonlight and blood-red light seemed to condense into a single line in that instant.

This line of light penetrated through layers of thick mist, directly locking onto Yan Xuehen's position, leaving her no way to evade.

Yan Xuehen's expression was solemn. Her Flying Snow Sword let out an unprecedented long cry, and she merged completely with her sword, emitting a beautiful ice-blue glow, like a ten-thousand-year-old piece of ice. Wherever she passed, even the surrounding space froze, leaving a visible icy trail.

As sword and blade met, an indescribable sound resonated between heaven and earth, like the cry of a phoenix or the collision of two stars in the cosmos.

Everyone present felt their minds tremble. In that moment, they seemed to gain some profound insight into swordplay and saber techniques.

The entire world seemed to hit a pause button. There was no earth-shattering explosion, only the intertwining and annihilation of the two combatants' energies and laws.

This mountain range was split directly into two. On one side, wherever the energy passed, it became a world of ice and snow.

The other side was illuminated by the blood moon, with surging waves of blood rolling below.

Both let out a muffled grunt and retreated dozens of feet, a trickle of fresh blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.

Yun Jianyue's hair and clothes were covered in a layer of white frost, and even her breath froze into ice crystals.

Yan Xuehen, on the other hand, was entirely flushed crimson, as if a faint blood moon flickered around her.

Zu An's expression changed. He quickly flew forward, positioning himself between them, and said quickly, "Your cultivations are equally matched. Continuing this fight will only lead to mutual destruction. Stop now."

His tone left no room for negotiation; he directly issued an order to both of them.

However, everyone present found this perfectly normal. It was well known that Zu An was now the undisputed number one in the world.

In fact, many cultivators no longer included his name on their rankings of top masters because his presence rendered the entire list meaningless due to the immense gap between him and the second-ranked individual.

Since he had said this, it proved that the two were indeed equally matched.

Both Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue had close relationships with Zu An. Knowing that he spoke the truth, they bowed to each other and flew away from the scene.

After Zu An dispelled the barrier, everyone noticed a clear dividing line across the mountain range. On one side, all the trees and plants were as crimson as blood, and the earth had turned into flowing liquid, faintly forming a blood-red moon. The other side was a crystal-clear world of ice and snow, like a blossoming ice lotus.

The once vibrant mountain peaks had now become utterly desolate.

Zu An then addressed the crowd, saying, "I trust this battle has yielded insights for all of you. However, you need to calm your minds and ideally enter seclusion to truly absorb what you've learned. You may all disperse now."

As he spoke, he casually waved his hand, and the desolate mountain peaks instantly returned to their lush greenery, astonishing everyone.

The academy members bowed to him and dispersed, discussing the recent grand battle and Zu An's miraculous feat as they went.

Zu An then hurriedly flew into the small courtyard. He first went to Yun Jianyue's room, where he saw Qiu Honglei almost in tears from anxiety, while Yun Yuqing was behind Yun Jianyue, circulating energy to heal her.

"You're heavily wounded..." Zu An was about to offer help when Yun Jianyue stopped him with a glance.

"Don't reveal our relationship. Yuqing and Honglei are here to help me heal. The Ice Stone Woman has no one; you should go help her."

Hearing her secret vital energy transmission, Zu An was stunned. "Are you serious?"

"Of course. Chuuyan isn't here, what do you expect her to do alone?" Yun Jianyue quickly replied. "I want to defeat the Ice Stone Woman, but not by taking advantage of her in this way."

"But you're too severely wounded, and Yuqing's cultivation might not be enough," Zu An said, still worried.

"Manman is also over there. Call her to come help me. With both of them, it should be enough to aid my recovery," Yun Jianyue replied.

Zu An considered this and agreed. Individually, Yun Yuqing and Pei Manman's cultivation might not be sufficient, but together, they should be fine.

Yan Xuehen indeed needed help, so he gave Yun Jianyue a few instructions and then hurried to the neighboring room.

At that moment, Yun Jianyue winked at Qiu Honglei, her expression quite expectant.